Poll: Rating Brewster after 2nd Year

[MNSnowman]

I was going to post this after the bowl game but decided to wait and see if any changes would be made to the OC and if Roof would leave. Glad I waited.

So, how would you rate Brewster on a scale of 1-10 (with 5 being "average") and after his second full year?

I gave him a "7," with these factors weighed in:

• good recovery in the second year after going 1-11. But the fade at the end bothered me.
• good hiring of assistants but offset by decision to leave Dunbar behind and loss of 2nd DC in as many years;
• very good recruiting;
• has begun to establish an identity with the Gophers that increases visibility;
• a bit too enthusiastic for me personally but seems to resonate well with recruits and players;
• Bonus point for Barreiro and Reusse abusing him -- counts as validation check IMO.

 

[Gopher07]

I'll give him a solid 5. There's a lot of potential, but that's worth the paper it's on. 1-11 was really bad, any way you spin it. We were competitive to start in year 2, but really ran out of gas down the stretch. I really think year 3, with the new stadium and his first class having two years in the program, will swing him one way or the other for me.

 

[The Big L]

Brewster has done wonders with recruiting, but I still wonder about his coaching and management abilities. The way we lost the NW game was entirely avoidable. Still, the recruiting talent has improved a ton, so I'm happy with him so far. I voted a 6.

 

[Tater]

6 right now - next year will be telling

So I've got him at a 6 right now which is right where I would've ranked Mason. To me, 6 equals a Big Ten bowl team with a record over .500 overall, or in other words a quintessential Mason team.

 

[Tater]

Brew's trajectory, however, is going in the right direction, whereas Mason was rather complacent with a "6" ranking (slightly above .500 overall with a mid- to lower-tiered bowl game).

Big picture: Brew is back to where Mason was in year two of his coaching career but Brew has better recruiting classes for the future. Will Brew's excellent recruiting elevate the program beyond its Mason years when it consistently produced a just-above-average team and a bowl game? Or will Brew's coaching inexperience negate his recruiting successes?

I can't say how good or bad Brew is as a coach yet, but we know he's new to the head coaching scene and is a workaholic, which suggests he has room to improve, even if ever so slightly.

 

[Gophers09]

Brew's trajectory, however, is going in the right direction, whereas Mason was rather complacent with a "6" ranking (slightly above .500 overall with a mid- to lower-tiered bowl game).

Big picture: Brew is back to where Mason was in year two of his coaching career but Brew has better recruiting classes for the future. Will Brew's excellent recruiting elevate the program beyond its Mason years when it consistently produced a just-above-average team and a bowl game? Or will Brew's coaching inexperience negate his recruiting successes?

I can't say how good or bad Brew is as a coach yet, but we know he's new to the head coaching scene and is a workaholic, which suggests he has room to improve, even if ever so slightly.

Spot on on all accounts.

 

[MNSnowman]

Based on 47 rankings, a score of 6.1

or "above average." Not a total surprise but I would have expected that Brewster would have averaged about a 6.6 or 6.7.

 

[Boondoggle]

I gave him a five. My vote will sway one way or the other in two years. I don't want to judge to early.

 

[MNfootballfan]

I gave him a 7. If he would have finished with a win towards the end it probably would have gone up. I also think if you grade him down because of the last 5 or 6 games you have grade him up because of the first 8. He has a plan and I believe he is sticking to his plan. I don't care if it was Mason's fault or not, the 1-11 was horrible and embarrassing, he has seemed to rebound nicely and is bringing in talent I don't think we have ever seen a college football team in the state of Minnesota. With all that being said, Brewster has some big days ahead of him.

I do think Brewster is the right guy for the job. He has been doing some great things at the U. He is getting talent here that I never thought we would see. He has high school kids in Minnesota look at the U before they look elsewhere. It would be amazing if every year we are getting 6 of the top 7 in state kids to stay home. There isn't very many states that can say that - yes I know some states have more than one college. Even though, I would be considered a Brewster Backer and I am glad we have him - I don't not like Mason. I think he did some good things at the U. I think Mason's time just ran dry.

 

[BuckBravo]

I'm disappointed that voters do not have an option of "tremendously tremendous."

 

[EG#9]

Very interesting poll. I read the board everyday and thought I was higher on Brewster than most people, yet I give him a 5 for his first two years which is below the average Gopher fans view (so far).

I agree with most of Tubtastic's points, but I have a hard time giving anyone a grade above "average" when they don't go at least .500 in their own conference. I give Brewster points for the vastly improved recruiting, but that recruiting has really only been on paper so far. We have seen some improved play from JUCO's Brewster recruited (Brock, Simmons, Lawrence), but most of the highly regarded high schoolers have not paid dividends on the field yet. I don't expect true freshman to have an impact, but I also won't just assume that they will be great players at the college level. I still think Brewster deserves time to put more W's on the board and I am excited about the foundation of better recruits he appears to be establishing for the U.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

5.

Brewster has shown both plus(s) and minus(s) and most have been mentioned.

After two years, I believe that he is the one who can get the Gopher to win big and often. I do expect to see a better product on the field in 09 even though our record may not improve due to SOS. We need patience as there is still tons of work to do.

 

[tikited]

6.

Could have been higher if he didn't blow the NW game with horrible decisions and allowing Dunbar to run the spread out of 3rd and inches almost all season.

Could have been lower if he didn't run laps around Mason's recruiting classes.

He needs to improve next year or he will be run out of town I fear. Another 7-6 season will not be o.k., no matter what logic is given to say this is thinking is wrong. Year three is key!

 

[Darby11]

I would go with a 4. Brew has reeled in ONE 4 star high school verbal this year according to rivals. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when most Gopher fans consider this a great achievement. Compare Brew to Harbaugh at Stanford. Both walked into difficult situations. Harbaugh already has a signature win (SC last year) and a loaded 2009 recruiting class. If Brew is going to hire a buddy like Coz he better win in 2009 or this is going to get ugly fast.

 

[golfinggopher]

Gave him a 7-some good things, some bad, but I'm pretty exited for the future still....

 

[dinkything]

brewster seems to be a bottom-line kind of guy...

let's check the bottom line, so far, after 2 years...

overall record..........8-17
big 10 record...........3-13
record in nov...........0-7
bowl record.............0-1

after inheriting a team that was 38-25 in its previous 5 seasons, i must admit i anticipated something better than this record so far.

as a result, brewster's entire body of work merits something below a '5' (remember, he is a bottom-line guy), whereas tubby is somewhere north of an '8', as a means for comparison

now what's important is 2009...

~a january bowl brings about a much better rating...and a 4 year contract extension (thru 2015)
~a december bowl...the alamo would be quite nice...and would result in an improved rating (and 3 years tacked on to his contract)
~a december bowl, but something less than the alamo, would be acceptable...and should garner a 2 year contract extension for brewster
~home for the holidays in 2009?? might need to re-evaluate the direction of the program...

 

[ditt1605]

I rated him a 7 based on what I would want the ideal Gopher coach to be. Honestly, he only has 2 yrs on his resume, so it didn't play that much of a factor in it for me. Once he has a larger record to work with, that would have more impact. (teams have off years, maybe his was the first one). I like his optimism and how he never uses Minnesota as an excuse, but rather a selling point.

 

[MNSnowman]

Another 7-6 season will not be o.k., no matter what logic is given to say this is thinking is wrong. Year three is key!

I understand your point but suspect that the fourth year will be the acid test -- even if the team goes 7-6 next year (which assumes another non-Jan-01 bowl game). Of course if the team doesn't get a bowl invite next year, then year three may be a "turn-in-the-key" year.

Fourth year will give Brewster's first recruiting class a chance to convince fans/Maturi whether his recruiting skill translates into on-field success. Plus, it'll be Weber's last year as QB ... and I think the following (5th) year will be more of a puzzle.

 

[MNSnowman]

A pretty solid Keillor-esque like rating

after 80 votes, Brewster has a total of 482 points for a 6.0 weighted score that translates to "above average".


"Minnesota: where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and the coach is above average." (Apologies to G. Keillor)